Three Times Emma's Armor Protected Her
by Shevy B
Summary: Because everyone needs something that gives them strength, even if that thing happens to be a red jacket. Rated T for violence and drinking. Oneshot!
**A/N: This oneshot was inspired from last week's episode,** _ **Firebird**_ **. I loved the past the writers gave to Emma's jacket, and wanted to build a fanfiction off of that. I hope you like! This is my first fanfiction under the Once Upon a Time category.**

 **Three Times Emma's Armor Protected Her**

Emma ran down the street as fast as she could, pounding the pavement with her worn out sneakers. She could hear the owner of the convenience store yelling at her and threatening to call the police if she didn't return everything she had stolen.

Once she made it a safe distance, Emma turned and ducked down an alley. Panting, she unloaded her bag to see what she had managed to steal.

Three candy bars, a pair of earmuffs, a banana, an apple, an energy bar, and two pens. Emma smiled before stashing her loot back in the bag and turning to run off to the spot she hid her car.

"Hey! You!" Someone shouted. Emma didn't even turn to see who it was, she simply turned and ran.

But she wasn't fast enough. Emma felt a hand reach out and grab her shoulder. She wiped around and came face to face with a gruff looking man with tattoos all over his body. "What 'choo doin' here, little girl?"

The man swayed and Emma could tell he was drunk. Her suspicion was confirmed when he reached with the hand that wasn't grabbing Emma's shoulder to his hip and pulled out a flask. He took a swig before turning his attention back to Emma.

"Running from the cops," Emma told the drunk man. "They'll come down here any minute, and I don't think you want to be here when they come, am I right?"

"Yer bluffing," the man dismissed. He took another swig and grinned evilly. "Now, a purdy girl comes down my alley way, unarmed and pure... This may be fun."

Emma's heartbeat sped up. How was she going to escape this one? An idea occurred to her and she gripped her jacket tightly willing herself to be brave.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Emma said.

"Why not?" the man asked.

Emma brought a leg up and kneed the drunk where it counted. The man let go of her shoulder and Emma pulled away and sprinted down the alley to where it let out on the other side. She then jumped in her car and floored it.

Emma couldn't help the smile from spreading across her face. It seemed that jacket she had bought yesterday made her more brave than ever before.

 **...**

The next time Emma found strength in her jacket was a month later. She was eating at some grimy dinner off of some lousy highway when she saw something outside.

A black SUV pulled up to the parking lot. Now nothing about that was unusual, it was what happened after that that was strange. A lady hopped out of the front seat with a hat covering her face, and she pulled out a baby carriage and left it next to her car. Then, the lady pulled away and drove off.

Emma was out of her seat in an instant yelling after the car, "Hey! Hey lady!"

But the SUV was out of sight. Emma grabbed the baby carriage and tossed the baby (who was now crying) into her yellow bug. Emma then floored it and raced after that SUV.

It didn't take long for Emma to catch up with the SUV. The baby was screaming in the backseat, so Emma turned up the radio to try and drown the noise. At the next red light, Emma pulled into the lane next to the SUV and rolled down her window.

"HEY LADY!" Emma yelled. The lady in the SUV rolled down her window and yelled back, "Yeah?"

"I've got your baby!" Emma yelled back.

The lady looked astonished for a moment, and then scared. She drove through the red light and sped ahead.

Emma cursed under her breath and sped after the SUV. She ended up following the SUV out onto the highway. Even though the lady tried to loose her a few times by taking sharp turns, or speeding up and slowing down, Emma stayed on her tail. They continued this pattern for about three hours until the SUV pulled into a gas station.

"What do you want, girl?" the lady asked hopping out of her SUV. She looked extremely annoyed. "I don't want that baby. She was a mistake."

Emma's throat burned at the lady's harsh words, "A mistake?" Emma asked shocked. "How could a baby be a mistake?"

The lady shook her head, "Listen. You're a young girl, naive and sweet. But not everyone is fit to be a parent like you. That baby in your car is a mistake. I know the people who run that diner. They would make sure Lisa made it to a safe place."

Emma closed her eyes for a moment. She willed herself to do say what she was about to say. Emma gripped her red jacket and looked the lady straight in the eye.

"I was dropped off at the side of a road when I was not even a day old," Emma said. "It wasn't the tough childhood that hurt me, or the fact that I knew my parents had given me up; it was the fact that I knew they didn't even care enough about me to drop me off at a police station. They just left me on the side of the road. Listen, I know that not everyone is cut out to be a parent, but at least try and make an effort to visit your kid sometimes. I still have no idea who my parents are, and it hurts more than anything else."

With that, Emma opened the door to her car and pulled out the baby. She handed her over to the astonished mother and said, "Just look after her. Don't make the same mistake my parents did."

' _Don't make the same mistake I did,'_ Emma added silently to herself.

 **...**

After that incident, Emma's jacket became part of who she was. With it on, she seemed capable of anything, whether good or bad. That jacket truly turned into her armor.

Whatever life threw at her, she was protected by her jacket. A facade that turned her into a hero.

One day as Emma was downing a beer in some dirty pub, she saw a brawl break out. Two drunken men squabbling over something or another. It wasn't until they started yelling at each other that Emma noticed they were fighting over the woman squashed between them.

As soon as the first punch flew, Emma ran over there and pulled the woman out of danger. The pub owner came and started breaking up the fight. The lady looked ready to cry.

Emma could tell by the woman's appearance that she had had one too many beers that night. She was swaying and slurring.

"That's... Thank you," the woman said. "I... I don't feel so good."

The woman turned away from Emma and retched.

Emma pulled the lady's hair out of the way as she ejected the contents of her stomach. When the lady stopped vomiting, she passed out. Emma went over to the two men who were fighting earlier.

"Who is she?" Emma asked.

"My girlfriend," they both growled at once. They both shot daggers at each other and then turned to Emma.

"I jus' came here for a drink, till I saw 'im with m' girl," guy number one slurred.

"She's m' girl," the other one slurred. "I'm s'posed to drive 'er home."

Emma had heard enough, "You two are not driving anyone home," she said firmly. Emma walked back over to the woman and picked her up.

Emma transferred the lady into her car and drove her back to her flat. Emma set up the passed out lady on her couch, and then went into her room and collapsed on her bed.

When Emma woke up, the lady who she had taken back to her flat was retching in the bathroom.

When the lady emerged, she turned to Emma and asked, "Please don't tell me we hooked up last night."

Emma laughed, "No, sadly not. I took you home after your boyfriends got into a bar fight and you passed out."

"Ugh," the lady groaned. "They were at the bar at the same time?"

"Yup," Emma said. "They were both drunk, I couldn't just leave you there. I don't think either of them were in a fit state to drive you home."

The lady nodded and said, "Thanks. Erm, I'm Lydia. Uh, is my car still at the bar?"

"I'm Emma, and yeah," Emma said, "I'll give you a lift."

Lydia shook her head, "You've already done enough. I'll just walk... Um, how long of a walk is it?"

"About two miles," Emma replied.

Lydia nodded, "Great. Thanks, by the way. I think I already said that, but I mean it."

Emma smiled at Lydia, "My pleasure," she said. "Just, do me a favor and try not to let your boyfriends see each other again?"

Lydia laughed, "I don't think I'll end up in that situation again! Thanks for your concern though. Erm, I better be off. Thanks again."

"You're welcome," Emma replied.

After Lydia left, and Emma was left to her thoughts, she glanced over to the red jacket draped over one of her armchair.

The red jacket had come to symbolize more than strength, and bravery. It symbolized who Emma was.

Emma was the girl who gave birth to a son in prison, and gave him up for his own best interest. Emma was the girl who grew up in an orphanage and never truly had a home. She was the girl who stole from convenience stores, kneed drunks, chased down bad parents, and helped people like Lydia.

Little did Emma know, that she was also the Savior.

 **A/N: Review if you have the time! I would love to hear feedback!**


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